Chapter 20

I stared down at the little boy as he scurried out. Depending on how this goes, I may have to silence him, I thought.

"How did you find me? You saw the video too?" I came clean.

"That gun, the service weapon with the serial number scratched. We ran it, got an Umbrage to help. Came back with your name on it. Ironically, the same day you showed up. So I did a little more digging, and...here we are. Coup ain't no eight-year-old girl neither."

"I'm innocent."

"Does a cat shit in the woods?"

"...what? I guess I don't know."

"That's my answer to your innocent speech. I don't know, don't care either. You here now. That full boat is gonna have some rough waves. We're going to let you sleep, though. Rest up to get the shit beaten out of you. Try dreaming of something nice."

Drifting into sleep was easier than I thought once they all left the room. Continuous leaking from that snake bite helped. I laid out on the smooth limestone, and after two blinks I entered the dream world.

I dreamt that an entire courtroom was floating over a crystal blue ocean, with waves flowing constantly. Skyward was the biggest sun I'd ever seen, inside it was a colossal scale made of yellow snakes. The judge was an alien, with pale greenish skin, and cat eyes. Clad in an obscenely long black robe which danced on the surface of the water below. His massive brain was protruding out his skull, thumping in sync with his thoughts. Inside the veins showing on his head was a small purple ball of light, traversing at a quick speed.

Every juror was a crude white drawing of a featureless man. Imagine a living representation of the symbol placed on the Men's bathroom door. Circular round head, inches above the square shoulders and chest, arms and legs rounded out, no fingers, or distinction at all. Orbs of red illuminated to my left. Darius, covered in crimson skin, with short, pointy black horns extended out his forehead. Sitting cross-legged, as if meditating, hovering over the water, playing a small fiddle. His fingernails were jet black, thrashing at the tiny strings, but no sound was ever produced.

Finally, my wife appeared, adorned in an illustrious jade silk dress, taut on her frame. Her naked back was showing seductively, the dress stopping high on her toned thighs. She'd never looked so lovely before. Her hair was dark purple and levitated. Rows upon rows of shimmering golden necklaces, all various designs, circling her beautiful neck, resembling a mystical goddess queen. Lastly, there was me. Trapped in a transparent square, the twelve-year-old version of myself, with oversized clothes on.

Man attire on a child. My eyes were three times bigger than normal, and I was heavily weeping, crying nonstop. A geyser was erupting from my face. Eventually, it became clear that I created the ocean with my tears.

I banged and banged on the transparent square with my tiny fists. Sounds of crowded laughter omitted with each hit. A cacophony of thoughts penetrated my mind, two, three voices at a time, maddeningly. The people you think are the strongest, are really just the strongest actors. You have no moral code, and barely a heart at all. That's why mother died, she couldn't stand you. Who'd want to love a son that resembles the failure of the father? You hit your wife because you are weak. You never fought any men without that big ol gun of yours. The medals you got in war were for the entire battalion, consider it a participation trophy. Pathetic...weak...admit it...you killed her. No...wait, I didn't. Yes...you slaughtered her. Your

Halo...

"Halo!" I sprung up covered in sweat, the glowworms responded, pulsating a cobalt blue.

Scarleth's face dripped into my field of vision, smoke followed shortly after.

"Ain't no angel gonna save you now. However, we got a big crowd while you was in La La land. Bets went flying."

I hesitated to stand, and Scarleth extended his hand to me. He communicated with his eyes that he didn't want to see me die, just suffer a little. The telepathic message was read, and I placed my hand in his. He helped me up, not squeezing down on my knuckles like before. Obsidian was standing by the door waiting for us. As we exited, he whispered in my ear. "Coup got a bum knee. If you make him twist it..."

"Stop trying to save everybody. That open heart is gonna get you killed, Obsidian. You can take the chaplain out the man, but not the child from the...whatever the fuck," Scarleth snapped back, escorting me to my doom.

We walked down a wide spiral of stairs, with the majority of Wren rising higher and higher in my view. Over thirty inmates were chanting, yelling, booing even. Tossing gold coins at me from above, looked like waves of autumn leaves. A few even hit Scarleth, but he never flinched, this must be part of the show. He stopped me before a raised circular arena, surrounded on all sides by more crystal clear water. Inside, Coup was jumping up and down, shirtless, waving his arms to rile up the crowd. I walked up the stairs and entered the rope-less ring.

"You gonna die today, boy!"

"Coup's punches will make you pee blood!"

"I'm counting on you, Newbie! Bets got it at a thirteen to one odds. You win, I can buy my freedom!"

"Fuck freedom! I can buy me a gallon of sugar water!"

Those were the only audible words I could make out from the roaring crowd. Sleep occupied the corners of my eyes. Cracking my knuckles hurt, muscle spasms while stretching my legs, not the best sign for a bare-knuckle fight. Especially when your gladiatorial opponent looks like he could punch through walls and chew glass. I took one last glimpse around, swallowed my spit, realizing I was dead center in a colosseum atmosphere. Anticipation and anxiety merged inside me, and for a moment I swore I saw Zed resting in a corner, blending in with the crowd.

He's the insider.

"Three minutes, no weapons, and Coup...try not to break his leg. We do need a runner for god's sake," Scarleth said. Coup obliged with a short head nod.

The fight was on. I walked forward, raising my fists awkwardly like I didn't own them. My ears became muted, and I watched a bead of sweat splash on the ground. Seconds later, my bloody tooth flew in the same direction. An uppercut clashed into my chin from his flesh arm, seemed like Coup teleported. I stumbled back and ducked his next hook. I vaulted up with all the power in my knees and caught him square beneath the ribs. Followed by an uppercut of my own into his diaphragm. The impact boomed like smacking a hand on water, but the damage was felt. I was proving my worth.

Flashbacks of late nights at Phoenix base, being screamed at by my superiors, struggling with the two-hundredth push-up. Rage unearthed inside me, and I went to head-butt Coup. He responded by gripping my neck with the metal arm, raising me off the ground. While pointing my toes forward, I kicked him in the throat, and he dropped me. The crowd's energy surged within, delivering confidence where I once had none. What if I win?

While Coup was bent over struggling to breathe, I kneed him in his nose. He fell flat on his back, as the crowd chanted 'New blood! New blood!' Both hands were covering his face, eyes peeking between his fingers, I was hoping his nose was broken, blur his vision. I began waving my arms to loud applause, smiling at them, proud of my missing tooth, scarlet water-falling over my lips.

Coup stumbled back to his feet, nose now crooked, and rushed for a tackle. He had lunacy in his eyes. I darted out the way and clipped his feet, sending him crashing down face first. More damage to the head, eventually, he'll pass out. Seizing the unforeseen luck, I ran and stomped on his spine. Over and over, driving full force into each attack. Kill him, beat him bloody, they respect you now. You've proven yourself. Coup rolled over and clutched my ankle with his metal arm. Scarleth yelled out. "Don't break his legs!" In the midst of that distraction, I kicked him in his eye.

A puddle of blood escaped where Coup fell, hard on the ground. I walked over to him, high on bravado, picked him up by his collar and head-butted him, aiming for the same eye. I'm going to win. Coup's neck dangled a bit, I saw energy leaving him. My forehead was marked with brown blood, and I cocked back for the last blow...when he hooked me directly in the temple with his metal arm.

Time was elusive by this point. My memory of what happened next only displayed blackness, mixed with ghostly sounds, bones crunching. I saw the cobalt blue of the glowworms on a ceiling, my breathing was heavy and slow. In an attempt to turn I discovered a broken rib, and with a loud squeal I realized wherever I was, I wasn't alone. The entrance to whatever cave I was in had dark, thin fabric blocking the door. My body, naked on smooth, square limestone. Another body, also naked, next to me. A soft thigh rubbed against my own, and someone's fingertips gracefully ran across my hip.